Everything about Tartan totally explained
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven cloth, but are now used in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with
Scotland. Scottish
kilts almost always have tartan patterns. (Tartan is also known as
plaid in
North America, but this word means a tartan cloth slung over the
shoulder or a
blanket.)
A Tartan is made with alternating bands of coloured (pre-dyed) threads woven as both
warp and
weft at
right angles to each other. The weft is woven in a simple
twill, two over - two under the warp, advancing one thread each pass. This forms visible diagonal lines where different colours cross, which give the appearance of new colours blended from the original ones. The resulting blocks of colour repeat vertically and horizontally in a distinctive pattern of squares and lines known as a
sett.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, tartans were simply different cloth patterns, whereof one chose the tartans most to one's liking - in the same way as people nowadays choose what colours and patterns they prefer in their clothing. Thus, it wasn't until the mid 1800s that specific tartans became associated with Scottish clans or Scottish families, or simply institutions who are (or wish to be seen as) associated in some way with a Scottish heritage.
Origins
Textile analysis of fabric from
Indo-European Tocharian graves in Western China has shown similarities to the
Iron Age civilizations of
Europe dating from 800 BC, including woven
twill and tartan patterns strikingly similar to Celtic tartans from Northwest Europe. The Celts wore coats set with a pattern of checks close together and of varied colours, similar in fashion to the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh tartans. Tartan patterns have been used in British and Irish weaving for centuries.
Northumbrian tartan is held by some to be the earliest tartan
(External Link
). A possible predecessor of Northumbrian Tartan dating from the 3rd century, found near the
Antonine Wall and known as the "
Falkirk sett", has a checked pattern in two colours identified as the undyed brown and white of the native
Soay sheep. The fabric had been used as a stopper in an earthenware pot containing a hoard of silver coins.
Particoloured cloth was used by the
Celts from the earliest time, but the variety of colours in the clothing was greater or less, according to the
rank of the wearer. That of the ancient kings had seven colours, that of the
druids six, and that of the
nobles four . In the days of
Martin Martin (circa 1700), the tartans seemed to be used to distinguish the inhabitants of different districts and not the inhabitants of different families as at present. He expressly says that the inhabitants of various
islands were not all dressed alike, but that the setts and colours of the various tartans varied from isle to isle. As he doesn't mention the use of a special pattern by each family, it would appear that such a distinction is a modern one, and taken from the ancient custom of a tartan for each district, the family or clan in each district originally the most numerous in each part, eventually adopting as their distinctive clan tartan, the tartan of such district.
Martin's information wasn't obtained on hearsay: he was born in
Skye, and reared in the midst of Highland customs.
For many centuries, the patterns were loosely associated with the weavers of a particular area, though it was common for
highlanders to wear a number of different tartans at the same time. A 1587 charter granted to Hector
Maclean of
Duart requires
feu duty on land paid as 60
ells of cloth of white, black and green colours. A witness of the 1689
Battle of Killiecrankie describes "
McDonnell's men in their triple stripes". From 1725 the government force of the
Highland Independent Companies introduced a standardised tartan chosen to avoid association with any particular clan, and this was formalised when they became the
Black Watch regiment in 1739.
The most effective fighters for
Jacobitism were the supporting
Scottish clans, leading to an association of tartans with the
Jacobite cause. Efforts to pacify the Highlands led to the 1746
Dress Act banning tartans with exemptions for the military and the gentry. Soon after the Act was repealed in 1782
Highland Societies of landowners were promoting "the general use of the ancient Highland dress". William Wilson & Sons of
Bannockburn became the foremost weaving manufacturer around 1770 as suppliers of tartan to the military. Wilson corresponded with his agents in the highlands to get information and samples of cloth from the clan districts to enable him to reproduce "perfectly genuine patterns" and recorded over 200 setts by 1822, many of which were tentatively named. The
Cockburn Collection of named samples made by Wilsons was put together between 1810 and 1820 and is now in the
Mitchell Library in
Glasgow. At this time many setts were simply numbered, or given fanciful names such as the "
Robin Hood" tartan.
By the 19th century the Highland romantic revival inspired by
James Macpherson's
Ossian poems and the writings of
Walter Scott led to wider interest, with clubs like the
Celtic Society of Edinburgh welcoming Lowlanders. The pageantry invented for the 1822
visit of King George IV to Scotland brought a sudden demand for tartan cloth and made it the
national dress of the whole of Scotland, with the invention of many new clan tartans to suit.
Clan tartans
The naming and registration of official clan tartans began on
April 8 1815 when the
Highland Society of London (founded 1778) resolved that all the clan chiefs each "be respectfully solicited to furnish the Society with as Much of the Tartan of his Lordship's Clan as will serve to Show the Pattern and to Authenticate the Same by Attaching Thereunto a Card bearing the Impression of his Lordship's Arms." Many had no idea of what their tartan might be, but were keen to comply and to provide authentic signed and sealed samples. Alexander Macdonald, 2nd
Baron Macdonald of Slate was so far removed from his Highland heritage that he wrote to the Society: "Being really ignorant of what is exactly The Macdonald Tartan, I request you'll have the goodness to exert every Means in your power to Obtain a perfectly genuine Pattern, Such as Will Warrant me in Authenticating it with my Arms."
The tartan of a
Scottish clan is a sequence of colours and shades unique to the material, authorised by the clan
society for use by members of that clan for kilts, ties, and other garments and decorations. Every clan with a society has at least one distinct tartan. While "heraldic" in the sense of being visual representation of blood relation, they're not "Scottish
heraldry", strictly speaking. In Scotland, heraldry is protected under the law by the court of the
Lord Lyon, King of Arms, and there are penalties for bearing an unauthorised
Coat of arms. Any tartan specified in a Grant of Arms by the Lord Lyon is registered by him, but there's no legal prohibition against wearing the "wrong" tartan. It is considered proper to wear a clan tartan if the wearer is associated with the clan by name, by blood or by legal adoption. In this connection, one ought to be mindful of the fact that by tradition, Scottish bloodlines run on the
mother's side
as well as the father's (As the saying goes: "Scots blood can't be diluted by anything save by Scots whisky!") - just as clan chiefs are by no means necessarily male; therefore, wearing the tartan of one's grandmother's clan is held to be perfectly appropriate, and, indeed, a most laudable manifestation of proper veneration. It is also proper to wear a tartan ascribed to the district, county, or shire.
Interestingly, a few tartans are now described as "general", for example acceptable for all to wear. The
Black Watch tartan (see below) is the most well-known of these. Furthermore, the "Stewart Hunting Tartan" is also considered a general tartan by many; originally, as the name implies, a Stewart tartan, its use in several Highland regiments led to this broadening of its application. It remains, however, the most popular tartan in use by Stewart clan members. Finally, a few words should be said about the best known tartan of all: the famous Royal Stewart. Originally a variation on the Stewart of Galloway clan tartan, and as such a bona fide Stewart tartan, it was favoured by the Royal Family, wherefore many people consider it a Royal tartan. For this reason, it became a much sought-after tartan with the Highland regiments; and this, again, led to its present-day popularity, where it functions, for all practical purposes, as THE Scottish Tartan, being used with everything for shortbread boxes to mugs and miniskirts. Queen Anne, foreseeing this development, remedied it once and for all by affirming that the British sovereign was to be considered clan chief of all Britons - English, Scots, Welsh and Irish - and that every (loyal) British subject therefore had the right to display her/his allegiance to the clan chief by wearing the clan tartan of the United Kingdom: The Royal Stewart.
In the border areas of England abutting Scotland, tartans are called 'checks'.
Other tartans
United Kingdom and
Commonwealth countries.
Those units associated with the
British Royal Family use the
Royal Stewart Tartan regardless of whether they're affiliated by blood to the Stewart clan. This is because of the Royal Family's
Stewart ancestry through
James VI of Scotland. The Royal family themselves use the Balmoral tartan.
However tartan is pretty inclusive. There are tartans for military forces like the
Royal Air Force &
Royal Canadian Air Force, commercial companies, special interest groups like
Amnesty International, religious movements (including
Hare Krishna), cities, football clubs (including non-UK football clubs like
Hammarby IF(External Link)(External Link)), dancing and whisky-drinking societies, non-British Celtic groups such as French Bretons and Spanish Galicians, commemorations and regions of the world where people of the Scottish
Diaspora live. As a result most people, whether of Scottish ancestry or not, can find some tartan which is significant for them. There are also general fashion tartans, not officially registered in Scotland, for those who don't care about the significance.
In
Canada all
provinces have an
official tartan.
British Airways used a tartan design as part of its
ethnic tailfin rebranding. This design, Benyhone or "Mountain of the birds," was one of the most widely used designs, being applied to 27 aircraft of the BA fleet.
The Clergy are the only profession represented by a separate tartan. The legend that goes along with this is that they needed a separate tartan to wear instead of their own family's so that they wouldn't be attacked by members of their new congregations who were feuding with their clan.
In the Celtic regions of
Cornwall and
Wales tartans and kilts have been adopted as part of the 19th and 20th century Celtic revival.
The traditional
Northumbrian tartan tartan
(External Link), known in Scotland as the Shephard's Tartan, is perhaps the oldest tartan design in Britain. It is in common use, for instance being worn by Northumbrian Pipers.
Carnegie Mellon University's athletic teams are nicknamed the Tartans in recognition of founder Andrew Carnegie's Scottish origin.
The word 'Tartan' is also used as a prefix to denote something of Scottish origin, for example the term '
Tartan Army' is used to refer to fans of the Scottish national
Football (soccer) team. The Rev
Donald Caskie, a
Church of Scotland minister, became known as the
Tartan Pimpernel for helping Allied service personnel to escape from occupied France during
World War II.
Tartan Registration
Other than those tartans specifically registered to Clan Chiefs, there's no official tartan registry. The closest thing to a formal registry is the "Scottish Tartans Authority," a Scottish charity which is supported by the tartan weaving industry.
The Scottish Tartans World Register is the trading name of a registered company called Tartan Registration Limited, a recognised charity.
A bill before the Scottish Parliament to establish a formal registry of tartan under the aegis of
The Lord Lyon has been languishing since 2001 when a petition to the Scottish Parliament was sent appealing to the Scottish Parliament to do so.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tartan'.
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